WOD-MOD {WK 6} Drunken Sausages??

Wow, I can't believe we are on week 6.  Meredith and I have really enjoyed this standing date.  Send us menu or workout ideas if you have any, we will totally try them out!

  

WOD

We started out our WOD with a little skill work on an exercise that I just adore: pistols! Here is a little link about pistols so you know what I am talking about.

Pistols
5sets of 5 on each leg

WOD

AMRAP in 15 min 
AsManyRepsAsPossible

3 Renagade Rows
6 Side Hops
10 up downs*
12 grasshoppers* or 25 mountain climbers (R/L= 1 rep)

*This video has demos of both "up downs" and grasshoppers.
*grasshopper video

 We followed this AMRAP up with:

Tabata Bike!!!
8 rounds of
20 seconds of max effort
10 seconds rest

MOD {L & M's Drunken Hard Cider Chicken Sausages}

Drunk sausages....yes, please!  I will get to that shortly.  In case you haven't notices, I really like cabbage. A few years back I bought Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook - full of fabulously healthy recipes and great pictures.  There is a great cabbage recipe in there that I hadn't made in a while and wanted needed to make.  So I told Meredith that we would be making it and she could find something to pair with it.  Welp, that she did.  She was reading the Seattle Times at work and stumbled upon the perfect recipe: hard cider soaked sausage. YUM!  We picked up some Uli's Rosemary Chicken Sausage after our WOD and got to cookin'.  We served our cabbage and sausage dish with a tasty salad and a little red wine.

hollandse rooie kool - dutch cabbage

adapted from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook

1 medium-sized cabbage, red or green, trimmed of outer leaves and shredded
1 purple onion, peeled and chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon groun cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 sour apple, peel and coarsely chopped

Method

1. Place the shredded cabbage in a colander and rinse well under running water. Drain briefly and place in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot. We used a cast iron skillet.

2. In a small saucepan combine spices, salt and broth.

3. Pour the spice/broth liquid over the cabbage. Add the onions and bring to a boil. Reduce head to a simmer and add the apple cider vinegar.

4. Let simmer for 12 minutes, stirring occasioning. After 12 minutes add the the chopped apple. Simmer for about 8 more minutes until the cabbage is soft.

Notes:

•  If you are using red cabbage, be mindful that if you eat a lot of it it may turn your teeth red! We learned this the hard way. :) 

drunken hard cider rosemary chicken sausages
adapted from Seattle Times Food & Wine: January 11, 2012

1 tablespoons olive oil
2 large sweet onions, sliced
4 uncooked chicken sausages
1 12-ounce bottles hard apple cider (regular apple cider also can be used)

Spicy honey mustard or German mustard

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a skillet, add sausage and cook turning occasionally to brown all over and cook until no longer pink.  You can also cook them on a grill, we used a cast iron skillet.
2. Pour the cider into a large stockpot. Add the cooked sausages, making sure they are covered.

3. Bring the cider up to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer over a medium-low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. This was the perfect amount of time to cook the dutch cabbage.

4. Remove sausages from cider and serve over the dutch cabbage or in a warm roll (topped with the dutch cabbage). If you prefer, you can top with a little spicy mustard and garnish with a few pickles.

Variations:

• The actual recipe called for apple-sage chicken sausage, you could also use Italian Sausage. 
• You could also serve this with some braised greens or on top of a salad.

21 Day Sugar Detox {take 2}

A while back I started Balance Bites' 21 Day Sugar Detox...it lasted a week but not much more than that. Even though I eat super clean, I still have those sugar and carb cravings and satisfy them by eating far too much fruit.  Yes, fruit is good for you, but it is still sweet and eating too much can cause higher blood sugar levels than we want, which is no bueno. 

Soooo, my best friend Sarah and I are going to take on the 21DSD together!  I love having a buddy that is game for these things.   We are going to check-in with each other every other day or so.  We will keep you up to date on how we are feeling, etc.

Simply put, on the 21 Day Sugar Detox Sarah and I will be limiting our sugar/carb intake - this will help increase our insulin sensitivity, which is important for maintaining blood sugar levels and as a result we will be eating more nutrient dense foods.

Because we both workout quit a bit, we will add a nutrient dense carbohydrates, like sweet potatoes, on days we workout.  Since you have to buy the guide from 21daysugardetox.com, I wont be able to give you toooo much detail on the exact outline of the detox.

In addition to this little detox, I am going to limit my coffee intake to the weekends.  

Here is to day 1. So far so good.

Curried Walnut-Pepita Butter

You know I love nut butter, especially walnut butter.  After getting back from a run last night I was craving some, so I whipped processed some up.  It is suuuuper easy. 

All you need is a food processor, nuts and if you want to "spice" it up you will need some spices of your choice.

Here is what I did: I dumped some walnuts nuts and pepitas in the food processor with 1/2 tablespoon curry powder and a pinch of salt , then flipped the switch. It is pretty hands off - I even did some dishes while it processed - I love multitasking.  Every so often I turned the processor off to scrape the sides and taste it to see if I should add more spice.  I like my nut butters pretty creamy so I let it process for close to 15 minutes. See, I told you it was super simple!  

 To keep myself from eating too much at one sitting, I prepared single serving containers with 2 tablespoons of the curried goodness in each.  

I store my nut butters in the refrigerator. 

This is another fun activity to do with the young ones. They have so much fun making their very own nut butter!

What will your flavor of choice be??

Flavor variations - start with 1/2-1 teaspoon then add more until you reach your desired flavor.

• use different nuts and nut variations. (Almonds. Cashews/pecans. Walnuts/pecans. Brazil nuts/pecans... there are endless combinations!)
• chili powder and cumin
• apple pie spice: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg
• add a tiny bit of vanilla extract with some cinnamon.
• finely shaved coconut
• finely ground coffee (this is so tasty!)
• citrus zest
• to make a nutella like spread add chocolate or cocoa powder.

WOD-MOD Wednesday {wk 5}

WOD {Simplicity}

Meredith and I had both had super long days. We just wanted a simple and quick workout.  I thought this would fit the bill.  It is simple, yet a killer of a WOD.  Burpees are simple - so why not do 100 of them?! You love them, right?

AFAP= AsFastAsPossible
100 Burpees

 Notes:

• Break it up to make it a little less daunting. 10 rounds of 10.
• Feeling like superwoman (or man)?? Do 10 rounds of 10 reps with 10 situps in between each set of burpees!

MOD {Massaged Lemon Kale Salad}

To continue with the simplicity theme, we chowed down on this super simple and clean salad.  Sorry, no photos - we were pretty hungry and surprisingly didn't take any pictures. :)
 
Massaged Lemon Kale Salad

1 bunch dino kale
juice of two lemons (I like it super lemony, so I use more!)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 red onion, diced
green apple, thinly sliced
1/4-1/2  cup walnuts, or nuts of choice
1 avocado, cubed
pulled chicken

Method

1. Thinly slice kale and place in a bowl. If you desire, you can remove the stalks. We just eat the entire thing - why waste??

2  Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over kale.  Gently massage the kale until is starts to soften - about 2-3 minutes.

3. Add spices.  Don't stress about the measurements- I always just ballpark it.

4. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and add remaining ingredients

5. Toss and serve.
.
* This is fabulous the next day!

Tips/Tricks:

•  If you aren't going to eat this right away, hold off on adding the avocado
• Time saver - we used chicken from my weekly rotisserie chicken purchase from Whole Foods!! 

Variations:

• Add different spices.
• Currants, raisins or dried cranberries would be an excellent addition.
• Replace the chicken with: beef, salmon, tofu, chickpeas, quinoa...
• Omit the chicken and serve it as a side.

salsa de manzana y jicama

¡me encanta Mexico! Translation: I loooove Mexico!  It is one amazing place. The sites, smells and flavors are to DIE for.  Every year around this time I get antsy to travel, especially to a warm place like Mexico.  The other day I was really missing Mexico and longing for a little trip there.  Seeing how I couldn't make the trip at that moment I decided I would bring Mexico to me, in form of the flavors!

I threw together this a super refreshing dish.  I enjoyed this with apple slices, celery and green cabbage - which I used has tortilla chips.  It was buenísimo!  You can enjoy this on top of a salad, tacos or just by itself.

salsa de manzana y jicama

{apple-jicama salsa}

1 jicama, diced
1 apple, diced (I used a granny smith)
1 shallot, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 avocado
handful fresh cilantro, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
2-3 limes, juiced
salt & pepper, to taste

Method

1.  In a medium bowl mix together the first 4 ingredients.

2.  Halve the avocado. Cube one half and add to the medium bowl.  In a separate bowl, mash the other half of the avocado and fold in with the jicama-apple mixture.

3.  Add cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper.

4.  Place in an air-tight container.  Cover with saran wrap, gently pressing it on the surface of the salsa before covering with the lid. The saran wrap will help prevent the avocado from turning black.

5. Refrigerate until you are ready to enjoy.

Variations:

• additional/alternative ingredients: cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapenos, mango, pineapple...

Homemade Mayonnaise {Love}

Who doesn't love mayo?! I don't use it often (and use it even less now since I don't make sandwiches), but this doesn't mean I don't love it.  It is a great little treat every now and again, especially if I have a burger to put it on and/or sweet potato fries to dip it in.  There is one problem - finding mayo that isn't made with highly processed oils and sugar (really?) is pretty darn hard!  The solution - make my own.  This was the third time I had made my own. The first time was a complete failure.  For one, I used extra virgin olive oil - bad idea - it gives way too strong of a taste.  Secondly, I was not patient. I didn't take my time adding the oil in so it never really emulsified. You live and your learn!

I followed Everyday Paleo's recipe with a few modifications.  This was definitely is a little bit time consuming... but well worth it. I am going to try Mark Bittman's food processor recipe next time!

WOD-MOD {wk 4}

WOD {Ringing in the New Year}

On the morning of December 31, a beaufully sunny day here in Seattle, I scooped Meredith from her place and we headed to the Y.  We pulled up to a very empty parking lot. It was closed. ugh! BUT, we did not let this stop us. I was house sitting on Lake Washington, so we headed that way and put together a WOD with a fabulous view of Mt. Rainier.

Since it was NYE, we just had to throw a little 2012 component into our WOD.  Cheesy, yes, but we had to do it.

I will post more!

I know...I been a little absent and inactive on the posting front. I have been crazy busy with life and haven't found much time to sit down and do much blogging. 

But watch out, when I can carve out a good chunk of time to cram out some post it will be awesome.  I can tell you I have a lot of material to post about.  One I am really excited about features Molly and Abby, my favorite 6 and 3 year olds.  This past Friday we had a slumber party...yes, a slumber party!  So, keep your eye our for that post. It will include two different gluten-free pancake recipes. 

Anywhooooo, I had to let you know I am alive and that I will post more.  I suppose I better get my day started....by making a fresh cup of coffee - there is no better way to get the day started.

Have a terrific Tuesday!!!

Oh ya...I forgot to check in on my nut butter detox. After 14 days I had some nut butter, it was amazing! However, I was right back to devouring it up like it is salsa. I must learn to slow myself down on the nut butter intake - I think I might need a sponsor. :-)

Weekend Brunch: Breakfast Sausage Patties and Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Happy Friday!
Last weekend was a fabulous one. Here in the great Pacific Northwest we were blessed with very spring like weather- a high of 59 on Saturday! To kick off the weekend, I had the pleasure of have two fine gentlemen for over for breakfast.

 Guest #1: my little (by age, not by height) brother, Adam.

Guest #2: His friend and roommate (again "little" by age, not by height), Sean.

The sunny spread:
Grass-fed beef breakfast patties, sweet potato hash browns,
egg (as you wish), apple slices and...coffee, of course!

This was the first time I had ever made my own breakfast sausage, I must say, they were pretty darn tasty. I think I may have to make breakfast for dinner very soon! As a matter of fact, I will invite my favorite up-and-coming chefs, Molly (6) and Abby (3), to help me out.  (Don't you worry, I will post photos.)

I followed this meal up with a fabulous (hilly) 50 mile bike ride!
These are just two of the glorious views I had returning to Seattle on the bike.

Here is to another great weekend...I just don't think we will have as nice of weather. Oh well!